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Qual

Once a powerful wizard who terrorized those who visited the isle of Dal'Noth, Qual was born a sylvan of Darshal town. When a young lad, he was banished from his town for what he described as a harmless prank. Hurting and seeking revenge, he discovered a spore of the Dark Bubbling that had washed up on the shore of his island. The spore called to him, and fed his thoughts of vengeance — telling him of the powers he could attain, having eaten it. Knowingly, he ate this great spore, and began his transformation into the form recognised as Qual the Wizard.

While preserving fragments of his own mind including all his memories, the greater spore drove Qual toward insanity and took whatever it wanted from him. His power grew enormously, but the toll on his psyche was incredible. The villagers of his town, Darshal, were the first casualties of his possession. His only love — she who had stood up for him against the collective voice of the village — was one of the first in line to be forced to the mindless life of a floating 'Noth by Qual's own hand. The common, lesser spores cause their bearer to slowly lose their mind, becoming unknowing, undirected agents of the Dark Bubbling.

Qual became the mouth and public agent of the Bubbling, and his mind was used to defend it — by keeping him from total assimilation, it gained a way to interact directly with those that might think — dealing with the t'rool people and trading them seashells from Dal'Noth's shore for extensive tunnels beneath Puddleby and the will to invade. Some t'rool were taken as Noths, and neodew spores are still found in the depths of their mines.

He gained the energy powers common to all Noths, but exceeded theirs — tremendous lightning bolts were summoned as he demanded them and thrust against his and the Dark Bubbling's enemies. He was able to change shape at will, but usually appeared in a purple robe similar to that of a Dal'Noth? or Kal'Noth?. Votenkath, Dal'Noth's resident wizard, became an enemy of Qual. Though he had lurked in his keep long before Qual arrived in this world, the Dark Bubbling realised Votenkath's power only well after Qual's infection and sought him out for his power; it did its best but was unsuccessful in attempting to enter his keep.

Later, Votenkath and Qual both sought the separ. Neither obtained it, and eventually it was used by Yor to separate Qual from his long-implanted spore. When the separation was complete, Qual was still a sylvan — weary and tearful, but otherwise unchanged from his four hundred years of possession. He shared his knowledge of the Dark Bubbling, and swore that he would never again harm another being. He retired to the library, and has not been seen since.